International human resources policy
The German Federal Government has come closer to its goal of being appropriately represented on the staff of international organisations and European institutions. That is the finding of the seventh report on Germany’s staffing presence within international organisations, which has now been adopted by the Federal Government.
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United Nations logo: For the Federal Government it is very important to have appropriate representation on the staff of international and European organisations.
Photo: Thomas Trutschel/photothek.net
The latest report on Germany’s presence on the staff of international organisations presents developments and the activities of the Federal Government in the field of international HR policy in 2019 and 2020. The Federal Government has recently stepped up its financial and political engagement significantly, in order to strengthen Germany’s presence on the staff of selected organisations in the fields of health, world food, displacement and migration.
German women in international organisations
The report focuses in particular on gender equality within international organisations. For this reason, the Federal Government is paying particular attention to advancing highly qualified German women as candidates for appropriate posts. Over the reporting period some important achievements were recorded. With Ursula von der Leyen in the post of President of the European Commission and Helga Schmid as Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), two German women now head key European and Euro-Atlantic organisations.
Engagement for multilateralism
The Federal Government considers it very important to be appropriately represented on the staff of international organisations and European institutions. In this way, German interests are actively perceived on the international stage, and Germany’s engagement for multilateralism becomes very visible.
Within the United Nations system, important posts were filled at managerial and executive level, including posts within the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the World Health Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Germany’s high presence among the Heads of EU Delegations was further expanded with 17 of the 143 Delegations now headed by Germans.
In addition, one German women police officer and one German male police officer head European Union Missions (EUCAP Sahel Niger and EUAM Iraq). Over the reporting period, Germany was also able to fill four key managerial posts within NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
German presence not yet at an acceptable level in all cases
Yet, when compared with its political and financial weight, Germany is not satisfactorily represented on the staff of all international organisations. The Federal Government’s goal is thus to raise further the percentage of German staff within international organisations and European institutions.